In the construction, demolition, and remodeling of building structures, construction and demolition debris must be removed from the building structure and, more particularly, from the floor where the work is being done. On the higher floors, the removal of the construction waste can often be a troublesome and time-consuming endeavor. Hand-carrying construction waste from upper floors through the interior of the building is cumbersome and can produce highly undesirable damage to the interior of the building. Tossing debris from the upper floors of a building avoids the need for carrying the material through the building interior, but can be dangerous to bystanders and the building itself and difficult to do effectively without undesirably spreading debris about the worksite.
The prior art has disclosed debris chutes that can be erected at construction sites, such as multi-story homes and buildings, for use in the removal of construction debris from upper floors of the home or building. Prior art debris chutes are typically formed with a plurality of segments. The segments of chutes typical to the prior art normally comprise generally rigid plastic sleeves connected in series, such as by chains or other flexible connectors. Together, the flexibly connected cylindrical or semi-cylindrical segments form an elongate cylindrical or semi-cylindrical chute structure of a length depending on, among other things, the number of connected segments.
So formed, the debris chute is connected to an exterior of a building, such as in communication with a window, door, roof or other opening, with the elongate chute disposed generally vertically or along an arcuate downward direction. A first opening of the chute located proximal the elevated building location allows the user to toss debris therein. A second opening positioned, for example, above a disposal dumpster, bin, or truck located at ground level allows egress of debris conveyed by the debris chute directly into the dumpster, bin, truck, or other recipient structure. Accordingly, these and similar debris chutes of the prior art offer a method for rapidly evacuating construction debris from building structures while minimizing the need for handling and carrying the debris through the building structure.
However, the debris chutes of the prior art suffer from a number of disadvantages. For example, with the plural rigid segments forming the chute, prior art debris chutes often cause damage to the building structure, landscaping, vehicles, and even nearby persons. Moreover, where the sections of the debris chute are merely semi-cylindrical, dust and debris can often escape the chute thereby leading to contamination and further risks of damage and injury. Moreover, with the bulky, heavy, and substantially rigid sections that form the chute, the debris chutes of the prior art can be exceedingly cumbersome and difficult to store, transport, and install.
With a knowledge of and appreciation for the foregoing, the present inventors appreciate that there is a need for a collapsible debris chute that overcomes one or more of the foregoing disadvantages. Without limitation, there is a recognized and longstanding need in the art of construction debris removal for a debris chute that is effective in conveying material while demonstrating light weight and compact storage and transportation characteristics. There is a further, recognized need in the art of construction debris removal for such a debris chute that can be used individually to convey debris in an enclosed manner over a given distance or in overlapping series to convey debris in a substantially enclosed manner thereby to minimize site contamination and cleanup by facilitating effective and substantially complete conveyance from entry into the debris chute to exit into a storage or transport container.